West Texas A&M University

WTAMU’s Enactus Team Qualifies for Nationals after Regional Championship

SIFE team takes new name, continues winning tradition

CANYON, Texas—West Texas A&M University’s Enactus, formerly known as SIFE or Students in Free Enterprise, will advance to national competition after winning a regional championship April 10 at Dallas. The win marks the team’s 19th consecutive regional championship.

SIFE has been a student organization in WTAMU’s College of Business since 1994. The WTAMU team is one of more than 1,600 teams on college campuses in 37 countries around the world. Jean Walker, Miller Professor of Entrepreneurship, has been the organization’s adviser since its 1994 founding on the WTAMU campus.

As the organization has grown worldwide and focused on the empowering force of entrepreneurship to change the world, the name change from Students in Free Enterprise to Enactus embodies that spirit of entrepreneurial action. The free enterprise mission is the same, but the name has been changed.

“The name change has been difficult for those of us, particularly alumni, who have been such an important part of the WT SIFE tradition, but it truly is a change in name only,” Walker said. “The traditions of SIFE will carry on into Enactus.”

The Enactus team will showcase its projects in a multimedia presentation for judges at the Enactus USA National Competition May 21-23 in Kansas City, Mo. Speakers on the presentation team include Emilee Cavaness, Justin Lawlis, Laura Beth Hallman, Juan Ramirez, Blake Boone, Manuel Garcia, Angelica Pallares, and Mary Dittfurth.